American actress Angelina Jolie on Sunday expressed deep concern over threats to free expression in the United States, saying she no longer recognises her country. She made the remarks while presenting her latest film at the San Sebastián International Film Festival in Spain.
Her comments come amid growing unease over freedom of speech in the US, following President Donald Trump’s clampdown on critical media and the recent suspension of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s show over remarks about the killing of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.
“I love my country, but I don’t at this time recognise my country,” Jolie said when asked if she feared for free expression. “Anything, anywhere, that divides or, of course, limits personal expressions and freedoms and, from anyone, I think is very dangerous. These are very, very heavy times we’re all living in together.”
The 50-year-old actress was at the festival to promote “Couture,” directed by French filmmaker Alice Winocour, which is competing for the festival’s top prize, the Golden Shell. Jolie plays Maxine Walker, an American film director dealing with divorce and a serious illness while navigating Paris Fashion Week and entering a romance with a colleague, portrayed by French actor Louis Garrel.
The Oscar-winning star, who was honoured in 1999 for her role in “Girl, Interrupted,” said she felt a personal connection to her latest character’s struggles. In 2013, Jolie underwent a double mastectomy and later had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed to reduce her high genetic risk of cancer, which claimed the lives of her mother and grandmother.
Visibly emotional, she reflected on her late mother while discussing the film. “I wish she was able to speak more as openly as I have been, and have people respond as graciously as you have, and not feel as alone,” she said. “There’s something very particular to women’s cancers, because obviously it affects us, you know, how we feel as women.”
